Eyv Hák 6^I

Trǫddusk tǫrgur         fyr Týs of bauga
hjalta harðfótum         hausar Norðmanna.
Róma varð í eyju;         ruðu konungar
skírar skjaldborgir         í skatna blóði.

Tǫrgur, hausar Norðmanna trǫddusk fyr {harðfótum hjalta} {Týs of bauga}. Róma varð í eyju; konungar ruðu skírar skjaldborgir í blóði skatna.

Shields [and] Norwegians’ skulls were trampled under {the hard feet of hilts} [SWORDS] {of the Týr <god> of rings} [MAN]. Battle arose on the island; kings reddened gleaming shield-fortresses in the blood of men.

Mss: Kˣ(103r), Kˣ(105v) (l. 1), F(18ra), F(18va) (l. 1), J1ˣ(63v) (l. 1), J2ˣ(60r) (l. 1) (Hkr); FskBˣ(10v), FskAˣ(52) (Fsk); 761bˣ(97v)

Readings: [1] Trǫddusk: trǫðuðu FskBˣ, FskAˣ    [2] fyr Týs of bauga: fyr týs ok bauga Kˣ, F(18ra), 761bˣ, við týss of valdi FskBˣ, ‘við tysvin valde’ FskAˣ    [4] hausar: ok hausar F(18ra), hausa FskBˣ, FskAˣ    [6] konungar: firar margir F(18ra)    [7] skírar: skíra FskBˣ

Editions: Skj AI, 65, Skj BI, 58, Skald I, 35-6, NN §§1053, 2423; Hkr 1893-1901, I, 214, 219, IV, 56, ÍF 26, 188, 193, Hkr 1991, I, 121, 126 (HákGóð chs 30, 32), F 1871, 82; Fsk 1902-3, 42 (ch. 12), ÍF 29, 89 (ch. 13); Möbius 1860, 233, Jón Helgason 1968, 26, Krause 1990, 70-5.

Context: In Hkr, as for st. 1. In Fsk, as for st. 5.

Notes: [1-4]: (a) Of (l. 2), the reading of FskBˣ (and its sister transcripts 51ˣ and 302ˣ), is here taken as the expletive particle and adopted rather than the Hkr reading ok ‘and’ (so also Kock, Skald). Of bauga, the particle plus bauga (gen. pl.) ‘of rings’, occurs again in st. 8/4, written um bauga. The reading um/of also appears to be supported by ‘tysvin’ in FskAˣ (and 52ˣ and 301ˣ), which is almost certainly an error for ‘tysvm’ (= týs of, so Jón Helgason 1968); the same error, vin for um = of, occurs in the same mss in Þhorn Harkv 2/8. This solution seems preferable to the alternatives, although it entails assuming an understood conj. between tǫrgur and Norðmanna hausar, hence ‘shields and Norwegians’ skulls’, as well as the difficulty articulated by Sahlgren in (c) below. (b) It is possible to retain the Hkr reading ok, giving a cpd gen. phrase ‘under the swords of the warrior [Hákon] and of the Norwegians’ (so Skj B and, presumably, Möbius (1860) and Fsk 1902-3), or ‘under the hard feet [weapons (?)] of the god of hilts [swords] and shields [WARRIOR]’ (so Hkr 1991). However, the resulting syntax is strained. (c) Sahlgren (1927-8, I, 53-4) thinks it unlikely that Norwegians’ skulls (hausar Norðmanna, l. 4), should here be said to be trampled, and he would construe Norðmanna with harðfótum hjalta ‘hard feet of hilts [SWORDS]’ (so earlier Olsen 1916a, 3, though his overall interpretation of the helmingr is unconvincing). (d) Lie (1948), for similar reasons, would adopt the Fsk reading hausa, as opposed to hausar in the other mss, interpreting it as ‘head’ (gen. sg. of a rare hausi m.), in reference to Haraldr as ‘head’ of the Norwegians, parallel to týs of bauga (cf. also Herbert 1804, 122-3; Ulset 1975, 48; Seim 1984). (e) Lindquist (1929, 12-13) takes the meaning to be that shields made it difficult for the swords to get at the Norwegians’ heads. — [2] Týs ‘of the Týr <god>’: For Týs/týs as proper name or common noun, see the Note to st. 1/2 Gautatýr, where the common noun appears more likely. In the present context of a stereotyped man-kenning, either is possible but a proper name is usual (cf. Meissner 260-3). — [2] bauga ‘of rings’: This could alternatively refer to rings painted around shield-bosses (as in st. 8/4), hence by synecdoche ‘of shields’, forming a warrior-kenning with Týr/týr. — [7] skjaldborgir ‘shield-fortresses’: This designates a defensive formation of shields held close together: cf. OE scieldburh, OHG sciltburg, and see Falk (1914b, 151).

References

1. Bibliography
2. Skj B = Finnur Jónsson, ed. 1912-15b. Den norsk-islandske skjaldedigtning. B: Rettet tekst. 2 vols. Copenhagen: Villadsen & Christensen. Rpt. 1973. Copenhagen: Rosenkilde & Bagger.
3. Skald = Kock, Ernst Albin, ed. 1946-50. Den norsk-isländska skaldediktningen. 2 vols. Lund: Gleerup.
4. NN = Kock, Ernst Albin. 1923-44. Notationes Norrœnæ: Anteckningar till Edda och skaldediktning. Lunds Universitets årsskrift new ser. 1. 28 vols. Lund: Gleerup.
5. Meissner = Meissner, Rudolf. 1921. Die Kenningar der Skalden: Ein Beitrag zur skaldischen Poetik. Rheinische Beiträge und Hülfsbücher zur germanischen Philologie und Volkskunde 1. Bonn and Leipzig: Schroeder. Rpt. 1984. Hildesheim etc.: Olms.
6. ÍF 26-8 = Heimskringla. Ed. Bjarni Aðalbjarnarson. 1941-51.
7. Hkr 1893-1901 = Finnur Jónsson, ed. 1893-1901. Heimskringla: Nóregs konunga sǫgur af Snorri Sturluson. 4 vols. SUGNL 23. Copenhagen: Møller.
8. Hkr 1991 = Bergljót S. Kristjánsdóttir et al., eds. 1991. Heimskringla. 3 vols. Reykjavík: Mál og menning.
9. F 1871 = Unger, C. R., ed. 1871. Fríssbók: Codex Frisianus. En samling af norske konge-sagaer. Christiania (Oslo): Malling.
10. Falk, Hjalmar. 1914b. Altnordische Waffenkunde. Videnskapsselskapets skrifter, II. Hist.-filos. kl. 1914, 6. Kristiania (Oslo): Dybwad.
11. Fsk 1902-3 = Finnur Jónsson, ed. 1902-3. Fagrskinna: Nóregs kononga tal. SUGNL 30. Copenhagen: Møller.
12. ÍF 29 = Ágrip af Nóregskonunga sǫgum; Fagrskinna—Nóregs konungatal. Ed. Bjarni Einarsson. 1985.
13. Ulset, Tor. 1975. Merknader til en del skaldedikt. Oslo: Novus.
14. Möbius, Theodor. 1860. Edda Sæmundar hins fróða. Mit einem Anhang bisher ungedruckter Gedichte. Leipzig: Hinrichs.
15. Lindquist, Ivar. 1929. Norröna lovkväden från 800 och 900 talen. I: Förslag till restituerad täxt jämte översättning. Lund: Gleerup.
16. Herbert, William. 1804. Miscellaneous Poetry. 2 vols. I: Select Icelandic Poetry. London: T. Reynolds.
17. Jón Helgason, ed. 1968. Skjaldevers. 3rd edn. Copenhagen: Munksgaard.
18. Krause, Arnulf, ed. 1990. Die Dichtung des Eyvindr skáldaspillir: Edition-Kommentar-Untersuchungen. Altnordische Bibliothek 10. Leverkusen: Literaturverlag Norden Mark Reinhardt.
19. Lie, Hallvard. 1948. ‘Et upåaktet gammelnorsk ord: hausi og Hákonarmál 6’. ANF 63, 200-3. Rpt. in Lie 1982, 325-8.
20. Olsen, Magnus. 1916a. ‘Fortjener Hákonarmáls digter tilnavnet “skáldaspillir”?’. In Til Gerhard Gran, 9. December 1916, fra venner og elever. Kristiania (Oslo): Aschehoug (Nygaard), 1-9. Rpt. in Olsen 1938a, 204-12.
21. Sahlgren, Jöran. 1927-8. Eddica et Scaldica. Fornvästnordiska studier I-II. 2 vols. Lund: Gleerup.
22. Seim, Karin Fjellhammer. 1984. ‘Er “et upåaktet gammelnorsk ord: hausi” belagt på bryggen i Bergen?’. MM, 85-9.
23. Internal references
24. (forthcoming), ‘ Unattributed, Heimskringla’ in Kari Ellen Gade (ed.), Poetry from the Kings’ Sagas 2: From c. 1035 to c. 1300. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 2. Turnhout: Brepols, p. . <https://skaldic.org/m.php?p=text&i=4> (accessed 23 April 2024)
25. (forthcoming), ‘ Unattributed, Fagrskinna’ in Kari Ellen Gade (ed.), Poetry from the Kings’ Sagas 2: From c. 1035 to c. 1300. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 2. Turnhout: Brepols, p. . <https://skaldic.org/m.php?p=text&i=56> (accessed 23 April 2024)
26. (forthcoming), ‘ Heimskringla, Hákonar saga góða’ in Kari Ellen Gade (ed.), Poetry from the Kings’ Sagas 2: From c. 1035 to c. 1300. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 2. Turnhout: Brepols, p. . <https://skaldic.org/m.php?p=text&i=130> (accessed 23 April 2024)
27. R. D. Fulk (ed.) 2012, ‘Þorbjǫrn hornklofi, Haraldskvæði (Hrafnsmál) 2’ in Diana Whaley (ed.), Poetry from the Kings’ Sagas 1: From Mythical Times to c. 1035. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 1. Turnhout: Brepols, p. 95.